Op Art Seminar

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Transcript of Op Art Seminar

1964 Op Art What is Optical Art? Even Before Period Types of Art Purpose of the Movement The 'Father' of Op Art The 'Mother' of Op Art A form of abstract art that gives the illusion of movement by the precise use of pattern, colour and contrast to produce effects that confuse and excite the eye on a 2-D surface. Driven by artists who were interested in investigating various perceptual effects

To provide the viewer with an illusion of movement on a static 2D surface Suggest movement and perceptual uncertaintyRepetition of patterns and linesOften high contrast between black and whiteUse of colour contrastOp artists exploited various phenomena: flashing, vibration, swelling, reversible perspective, line interferenceMoire: an interference pattern created by curved lines or overlapping linesUsually all of the space is usedVarious mediums: oil, acrylic, emulsion or screen print on canvas, board, linen, or paper Born: 1906 Hungary Died: 1997 Paris

In 1927, switched from studying medicine to pursuing a career in artstudied the original Bauhaus ideas of use of colour and optics at the Muhely Academy in HungaryWorked in a number of different styleslaid the foundations for Op Art movementcreated the Alphabet Plastique that made his compositions difficult to know where it began and endeda fine arts programming language using circles, squares and triangles matched to different colour scales of 20 hues each Born: Norwood, South London 1931

Father and Grandfather were both paintersDrawing and painting became the centre of her life from an early ageIn 1960, she began her first op art paintingsPaintings were guided by what she saw with her own eyes, not based on theoryspent two years copying Seurat’s painting, Bridge of Courbevoie, to learn about his painting technique and use of complementary colorsShe is a trustee of the National Gallery in LondonWhen she paints, she mixes her own paint and everything is painted by hand Victor Vasarely was the first to explore unusual perceptual effects in some designs from the 1930’s. 1964 Time magazine made the term "op art" popular after using it in an article 1955 Op art gained attention after it was launched at Le Mouvement, a group exhibition at the Denise Rene Gallery 1965 The exhibition, The Responsive Eye, was put on at the Museum of Modern Art in New York showcased 123 paintings and sculptures by a total of 100 artists from 15 nationsincluding:Victor VasarelyBridget Riley led to a craze for Op designs in fashion and the media the use of Op art for commercial purposes may have led to the decline of the movementArtists’ designs were borrowed by American clothing manufacturersDesigns were found on posters, t-shirts and book illustrations The Decline 1968 Op art lost popularity It was viewed as nothing morethan tricks of the eye. Some out of enthusiasm for research and experimentOthers with distant hope that the effects they mastered might find an wide audience and integrate modern art into society in new ways 1935 1937 paper dress 1938 Victor Vasarely Bridget Riley Vega-nor 1969 acrylic on canvas2m x 2m Types of Contrast when you stare at two contrasting colours long enough, the colours create an after image Simultaneous Contrast Successive Contrast when two colours, in particular complimentary, are juxtiposed, changing our perceptions of the colours 1963 fall emulsion on board141 x 140.5 cm movement and rhythm through the use of wavy lines; also depicting the use of Moireclose contrast between black and white lines lead to the appearance of vibration and flashingthe gradation of space from the top to the bottom gives an essence of "falling"; hence the name of the piece repetition of the square patterngradation of the size of the squares to create the bulging effectuses the Alphabet Plastique with 3-dimensionalitysimultaneous contrast from the use of complementary colours Op Portraiture